Interface Engineering for Both Cathode and Anode Enables Low‐Cost Highly Efficient Solution‐Processed CdTe Nanocrystal Solar Cells

Low‐cost solution‐processed CdTe nanocrystal (NC) solar cells always suffer from a high interface energy barrier and unbalanced hole/electron transport as well as anisotropic atom diffusion on the CdTe surface due to the limited amount of hole/electron interface materials or the difficulty in interface processing. In this work, a novel strategy is first adopted with gradient electron transport layer (CdS/CdSe) modification in the cathode and a new crosslinkable hole transport polymer (P‐TPA) implantation in the anode. The carrier recombination at interfaces is greatly decreased and thus the carrier collection is increased. Moreover, the light harvesting is improved both in short and long wavelength regions, making J_sc and V_oc increase simultaneously. A champion solar cell shows a very high power conversion efficiency of 9.2% and an outstanding J_sc of 25.31 mA cm^?2, which are among the highest values for all solution‐processed CdTe NC solar cells with a superstrate structure, and the latter value is even higher than that of traditional thick CdTe thin‐film solar cells (2 µm) via the high temperature close space sublimation method. This work demonstrates that facile surface modifications in both the cathode and anode with stepped extraction and organic–inorganic hybridization are very promising in constructing next‐generation highly efficient NC photovoltaic devices.     

Study of defect levels in CdTe using thermoelectric effect spectroscopy

We have studied the defect levels in as grown and post growth processed cadmium telluride (CdTe) using thermoelectric effect spectroscopy (TEES) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) techniques. We have extracted the thermal energy (E_th) and trapping cross section (σ_th) for the defect levels using the initial rise and variable heating rate methods. We have identified 10 different defect levels in the crystals. Thermal ionization energy values obtained experimentally were compared to theoretical values of the transition-energy levels of intrinsic and extrinsic defects and defect complexes in CdTe determined by first-principles band-structure calculations. On the basis of this comparison, we have associated the observed ionization levels with various native defects and impurity complexes.     

多层HgCdTe异质外延材料的热退火应力分析

前期研究采用高温热处理方法,获得了抑制位错的最佳退火条件.通过比对实验,发现不同衬底上HgCdTe表面的CdTe钝化层在热处理过程中对位错的抑制作用各有不同.结合晶格失配应力和热应力对不同异质结构进行理论计算,借助X射线摇摆曲线的倒易空间分析,解释了CdTe钝化层对HgCdTe位错抑制的影响作用.     

Physical properties of spray deposited CdTe thin films: PEC performance

p-CdTe thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis under different ambient conditions and characterized using photoelectrochemical(PEC),X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy,energy-dispersive analysis by X-ray(EDAX),and optical transmission studies.The different preparative parameters viz solution pH, solution quantity,substrate temperature and solution concentration have been optimized by the PEC technique in order to get good-quality photosensitive material.XRD analysis shows the polycrys...     

Through‐the‐glass spectroscopic ellipsometry for analysis of CdTe thin‐film solar cells in the superstrate configuration

Polycrystalline CdS/CdTe thin‐film solar cells in the superstrate configuration have been studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) using glass side illumination. In this measurement method, the first reflection from the ambient/glass interface is rejected, whereas the second reflection from the glass/film‐stack interface is collected; higher order reflections are also rejected. The SE analysis incorporates parameterized dielectric functions ε for solar cell component materials obtained by in situ and variable‐angle SE. In the SE analysis of the complete cells, a step‐wise procedure ranks the fitting parameters, including thicknesses and those defining the spectra in ε, according to their ability to reduce the root‐mean‐square deviation between the simulated and measured SE spectra. The best fit thicknesses from this analysis are found to be consistent with electron microscopy. Based on the SE results, the solar cell quantum efficiency (QE) can be simulated without any free parameters, and comparisons with measured QE enable optical model refinements as well as identification of optical and electronic losses. These capabilities have wide applications in photovoltaic module mapping and in‐line monitoring. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a high-selectivity process for electron cyclotron resonance plasma etching of II-VI semiconductors

The erosion rate of resist during electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma etching of II-VI semiconductors is the limiting factor for the selectivity (values range from 5:1 to 10:1). We have measured the erosion rates of AZ 1529, a commercially available diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) novolak photoresist, under plasma conditions optimized for etching of the underlying semiconductor and have developed an in-situ technique to “harden” the resist by exposing it to an argon-only ECR plasma. A subsequent standard plasma process can then be used to etch the II-VI material, thereby achieving selectivity values greater than 50:1.     

Plasma Passivation Etching for HgCdTe

Inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) are the high-density plasmas of choice for the processing of HgCdTe and related compounds. Most dry plasma process works have been performed on HgCdTe for pixel delineation and the p-to-n-type conversion of HgCdTe. We would like to use the advantages of “dry” plasma processing to perform passivation etching of HgCdTe. Plasma processing promises the ability to create small vias, 2 μm or less with excellent uniformity across a wafer, good run-to-run uniformity, and good etch rate control. In this study we developed processes to controllably etch CdTe, the most common passivation material used for photovoltaic-based HgCdTe devices. We created a process based on xenon gas that allows for the slow controllable CdTe etch at only 0.035 μm/min, with smooth morphology and rounded corners to promote further processing.     

Plasma-Cleaned InSb (112)B for Large-Area Epitaxy of HgCdTe Sensors

Plasma etching of (112)B InSb to prepare this semiconductor for the heteroepitaxy deposition of CdTe and initial studies of CdTe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on InSb (112)B substrates cleaned with various plasma treatments are presented. X-ray diffraction rocking curve maps of the MBE CdTe epilayers on 3-inch InSb (112)B substrates have full-width at half-maxima (FWHM) values in the range of 20 arcsec to 30 arcsec. An etch pit density analysis of the 3-inch CdTe epilayers reveals a defect density of 1.0 × 10⁷ cm⁻² and 7.7 × 10⁵ cm⁻² at the center and edge of the wafer, respectively. Evaluation of a standard HgCdTe annealing process suggests that the removal of the InSb substrate is likely to be needed prior to any postgrowth annealing in Hg overpressure. Finally, we present a low-energy helium plasma exposure of wet-etched InSb (112)B substrates that provides a uniform epi-ready surface that is nearly stoichiometric, and free of oxide and residual contaminants.     

Relevance of Thermal Mismatch in Large-Area Composite Substrates for HgCdTe Heteroepitaxy

It is well known that the large lattice mismatch (>14%) associated with CdTe/Si, CdTe/Ge, and CdTe/GaAs composite substrates, is a great contributor to large dislocation densities and other defects that limit the performance of HgCdTe-based infrared detectors. Though thermal expansion mismatch is another possible contributor to material defects, little work has been done towards documenting and understanding its effects in these systems. Here, we perform studies to determine the relative contributions of lattice and thermal mismatch to CdTe film characteristics, including dislocation density and residual stress. Unannealed and thermally cycled films are characterized using x-ray diffraction, defect decoration, and Nomarski and transmission electron microscopy. For CdTe/Si, the residual stress is consistently observed to be tensile, while for CdTe/Ge and CdTe/GaAs, a compressive residual film stress is measured. We show based on theoretically predicted stress levels that the experimental measurements imply the dominance of thermal mismatch in the residual stress characteristics.